New base station antenna systems integrate the radio unit and the antenna to one compact base station antenna module. Such a module is a significant advancement compared to traditional base stations with respect to site location, installation, operation and maintenance. At the same time, operators require high output power, light weight, small size, etc., which put forward higher heat requirements for the radio unit and the antenna. Traditionally the main radiator of the Radio Unit was mostly constructed of straight fins, with the air flowing from the bottom of the radiator into the unit and discharged from the top. There is an optimal working point for the straight fins, with respect to fin spacing based on the internal heat consumption, radiator height, target temperature.
A conventional solution to improve the cooling for the above mentioned modules is to increase the cooling area, which will increase the volume of the product, and its total weight. This increase in volume does not meet the objectives of the operators to reduce the overall appearance of the site. The increase in weight would have higher requirements for installation on a tower or a pole, and does not allow for reduced costs for the carriers.
Another solution is to use forced cooling with fans. These fans require power supply and control, and can't meet the operators' requirement for simple maintenance and operation.
The increase of cooling power leads to further difficulties in meeting the operators' requirement.